Avadhuta Upanishad 21 — Verse 21

Sanskrit (Devanagari)

आरब्धकर्मणि क्षीणे व्यवहारो निवर्तते । कर्मक्षये त्वसौ नैव शाम्येद्ध्यानसहस्रतः ॥२१॥

Padapatha (Word Split)

आरब्ध-कर्मणि । क्षीणे । व्यवहारः । निवर्तते । कर्म-क्षये । तु । असौ । न । एव । शाम्येत् । ध्यान-सहस्रतः ॥२१॥

IAST Transliteration

ārabdhakarmaṇi kṣīṇe vyavahāro nivartate | karmakṣaye tv asau naiva śāmyed dhyānasahasrataḥ ||21||

Translation

إذا فَنِيَتْ كارما المُبتدَأةُ (براربدها) انقطعَتِ المعاملةُ الدنيوية. غيرَ أنّها لا تَسكنُ بمجرّدِ آلافِ التأمّلات؛ إنّما تنتهي بانقضاءِ الكارما نفسها.

Academic Translation

When the karma that has begun (prārabdha) is exhausted, worldly transaction ceases. But that (prārabdha) does not subside merely by thousands of meditations; it ends only with the exhaustion of karma.

Verse Context

• Prārabdha-karma and the jñānī’s non-doership amid residual embodiment
• Mahavakya: Supports the implication of ‘अहं ब्रह्मास्मि (ahaṃ brahmāsmi)’: realization removes doership/identification, while prārabdha continues until exhausted.
• Atharva
• Chandas: Anuṣṭubh (śloka)